Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Santa's Elf Tag using Tim Holtz's Toil and Trouble Die

This week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge theme is to include a Santa and we're also highlighting products from Tim Holtz.  Can you spot the sneaky Santa in my tag?

I started by cutting a tag out of Strathmore Mixed Media paper.  I stenciled white paint onto it using Tim's Halftone stencil, then did the old school technique of stamping Distress Ink onto a craft mat, spritzing it with water, then dragging and smooshing the tag through the inky water splats.  I used Distress Ink in Peacock Feathers and Twisted Citron.

While that dried, I got to work on my elf.  I love the witch silhouettes in Tim's Toil and Trouble die set, so why not have a witch serve double-duty as an elf?  I cut her out and colored her with alcohol markers (Tombow Portrait markers for her face and arms) and added some scraps of washi tape.  I thought about trimming down the wide brim of the hat and adding a band of white fluff to it to make it look more Santa-ish, but I liked the whimsical shape of the hat and decided to leave it as-is.

Next I went to work on the pile of presents my elf would be standing on.  I stamped these presents using Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink and Tim's Seasonal Scribbles stamp set.  I painted in the presents with acrylic paint.

Back to my elf!  I cut out a white puff ball for the end of her hat and cut out a star from Tim's Retro Oven die set and painted it yellow.  I also added a little more color to her apron and I outlined all of the pieces with a black Sharpie to help them stand out.  I also stamped the "Love + Peace + Joy" sentiment onto the tag.

All that was left was to assemble and paint the edges of the tag.  I also added a few flicks of Dina Wakley Media Gloss Spray and this little elf was ready to deliver some holiday cheer!

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Tim-Holtz-Sizzix-TOIL-AND-TROUBLE-Thinlits-Dies-665561	Tim Holtz Seasonal Scribbles Stamp Set	Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits Tag Collection dies	Tim Holtz Sizzix Retro Oven Thinlits Dies	Tim-Holtz-Layering-Stencil-HALFTONE-THS144	Tim Holtz Peacock Feathers Distress Ink	tim holtz distress mini twisted citron ink pad
Tombow Portrait Dual Brush Pens	Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE acrylic paint	Dina Wakley LEMON Media Acrylic Paint	Dina Wakley Lime paint	Dina Wakley Carnation Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley Ranger LAPIS 1 oz Media Acrylic Paint	Dina Wakley Umber acrylic paint
Dylusions Blue Hawaiian Paint	Dylusions Tropical Sangria	Dylusions Lemon Drop paint	ranger archival jet black ink pad	Black Permanent Sharpie Marker	Ranger Inkssentials Non Stick CRAFT SHEET Reusable 15 X 18 Stamp Paint Ink	Dina Wakley Olive Gloss Spray
Dina Wakley Sky Gloss Spray	Dina Wakley Carnation Gloss Spray

How will you pay homage to Santa this week?  Upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Sparkle Mode using Stamping Bella's Oddball Edgar Allan Poe Stamp

When I heard that this week's theme for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge was Sparkle Mode (we're also highlighting the Stampendous brand), I decided to find the most NON-sparkly thing I could think of and try to give it some pizzazz.  So what did I land on?  Edgar Allan Poe!!  As an English major and former English teacher, my heart has always gone out to Poe.  Holy cow (or should I say holy raven?) to the life he had.  I couldn't help but think, "Give this man something happy!"  And so my tag was born.

As usual, this tag came together in a round-about sort of way.  I started by cutting a tag out of Strathmore Mixed Media paper, then I stamped Poe onto my tag.  I colored him in with alcohol markers, but did not like how it looked.  To solve the problem, I did what I always do when I don't like something's vibe: I painted over it with white paint. 

I went back to my roots and colored him with acrylic paint and added some polka dots to his jacket.  I added some shading and black tones with a Distress Crayon and a graphite pencil.

And now for the background!  I stenciled some stars on with white paint, then smeared on some blue, teal and purple paint.

I added some olive green tones and drew around the edges of the tag with an embossing pen, then heat-embossed the lines with sparkly silver embossing powder.

To complete this idea of a happy Poe, I made a pointy party hat.  The "happy" sentiment on the brim is cut out of a strip of washi tape.  I also added some text stamping at the bottom and top of the tag and splattered on some Dina Wakley Gloss Spray in Lemon.

I'm not sure what Poe would think of his chipper alter ego here, but I enjoyed thinking about him as I made this tag. 

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Stamping Bella Oddball Edgar Allan Poe stamp	Simon Says Stamp Scattered Stars Stencil	Tim Holtz Distress Crayons SET 3	AALL and Create Vivre Washi Tape	Stamper′s Anonymous Tim Holtz Stamp Set in Theories	ranger archival jet black ink pad	SNOWFLAKES-Embossing-Powder-Kit-ek32
Ranger HEAT IT CRAFT TOOL	American Crafts Moxy Embossing Pens	Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits Tag Collection dies	Strathmore Mixed Media 6x8 Paper	Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE acrylic paint	Dina Wakley Turquoise paint	Dina Wakley Olive Acrylic paint
Dina Wakley LEMON Media Acrylic Paint	Dina Wakley Fuchsia Acrylic Paint	Dina Wakley Ranger NIGHT acrylic paint	Dina Wakley Ranger LAPIS 1 oz Media Acrylic Paint	Dina Wakley Ranger LEMON Gloss Spray

It's the perfect time of year to go into "Sparkle Mode," and we'd love to see what you create this week.  Upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.